Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe

I have seen recipes for carnitas floating around the internet, but I honestly didn’t know what they were.
After a little research, I found that carnitas are a Mexican specialty of seasoned pulled pork, traditionally fried in lard, with a mixture of juicy and crispy browned parts. Carnitas are great in sandwiches, or as a filling for tamales.

They sound delicious- but I am thinking that there has to be a way around that “fried in lard” step (I am not even sure where to buy straight-up lard to fry it in!).

So, I started thinking and decided that I would try and use my slow cooker instead . . . I love using my slow cooker to take a tough cut of meat and make it fall apart. As far as getting those “crispy browned pieces”, I decided to throw it under the broiler for a second to caramelize the juices on the meat. And guess what? It turned out awesome! Since I have never had a real carnitas, I didn’t have much to compare it to, but this meal will definitely be made again in our home! You could use these meat in enchiladas, burritos, tacos, on top of a salad, etc. Your family will love it!

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or HIGH for 5-6 hours (I would recommend the low setting). Remove roast from slow cooker when finished cooking and shred using two forks (it should fall apart pretty easily).

Cover a large baking sheet (15x10x1") with foil and spread the shredded meat on top of it. Pour some of the liquid from the slow cooker over the meat (I used about 1 1/2 cups - use as much or as little as you like).

Broil meat for about 5 minutes, until it starts to caramelize around the edges (I flipped my meat once during this time).

Serve meat on tortillas, in burritos, enchiladas, or even on top of your favorite salad. It makes great leftovers too!
I served mine on soft flour tortillas with cheese and my favorite fresh homemade salsa.

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Comment on this Recipe

21 Responses to “Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe”

Haha. You're so funny Camille. Lard is found in the aisle right next to the shortening. Easy to find in Walmart. But it is kind of gross to think about. Anyway, I made a recipe similar to this one if you want to check it out: http://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/2013/04/crockpot-pork-carnitas.html. I crisped mine under the broiler as well (no lard for me either!)

Can't wait to try these! I've got them ready to go in the slow cooker sometime this week! Yum yum! Gave you a shout out over at Incomplete Guide to Living today! Hope you'll stop by and check it out! :)
~Beth xoxo

Hi Denise, Just click on the MAGIC button under the picture and then on Nutrition. It will give you the servings, nutritional value and weight watcher points on the recipe. It's our sister site - MyRecipeMagic.com. We have over 23,000 recipes on My Recipe Magic. It's a great place to look for ANY recipe.

We have only made it in the slow cooker. I'm sure it would work in the oven. We can't tell you for how long and on what temperature. You may have to play with it a little to get it just right in the oven.